Sunday, 16 March 2014

Breaking News: SOLAR FLEET Nyx Class Mothership Destroyed in PDF-3Z

Yesterday, the fifteenth of March, saw a continuation in the fighting over the Tenerifis region between RUS Coalition and N3. SOLAR FLEET Alliance organized a one hundred pilot Tengu fleet in order to take down a Sovereignty Blockade Unit (SBU) planted by Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance in the 4-IT9G system.

To Northern Coalition(dot)'s Fleet Commander, Travis Musgrat's surprise, a large number of SOLAR FLEET super-capital pilots logged into the game around the same time as the assault on the 4-IT9G Sovereignty Blockade Unit. This prompted Northern Coalition(dot) to hastily form up a Navy Issue Apocalypse fleet numbering close to a hundred pilots as well, while sending forward tacklers in order to catch the super-capitals and light a cynosural beacon for the fleet to bridge into.However, there wasn't enough time for the Northern Coalition(dot) pilots to arrive to the system before the Sovereignty Blockade Unit was destroyed. This allowed SOLAR FLEET's super-capital force, numbering fifteen assorted Motherships, to jump into the PDF-3Z system, unto a safe tower, while the SOLAR FLEET Tengu fleet moved back and took positions on the entrance gates to the system, effectively blocking the path for Northern Coalition(dot) forces.

It was at that moment, that a SOLAR FLEET Nyx class Mothership was bumped off from the tower, an occurrence that Travis Musgrat explained is not uncommon when many super-capital ships jump into a single cynosural beacon. The pilot, instead of warping off the field to a celestial and back to the tower, or simply cloaking, chose to approach the tower, in what is called "Slowboating", allowing Northern Coalition(dot) the time they needed to bypass the SOLAR FLEET Tengu gate camp.glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot), had an account in a corporation that was part of Against ALL Authorities' renter alliance, AAA Citizens. The account was inserted in order to snag a carrier kill or two, as the corporation itself had its lease with Against ALL Authorities Alliance expire in a week, and decided to join Northern Coalition(dot)'s renter alliance instead. Spotting a chance to get a Mothership kill, glitterbomb had this account enter the system, in a cynosural generator fitted ship. Since the character in question was in a friendly alliance of SOLAR FLEET, the Tengu fleet allowed the ship to pass through their gate camp, effectively sealing the Nyx pilot's fate.It wasn't smooth sailing from there on, as glitterbomb had his character warp to the wrong side of the tower, necessitating a few more nail biting minutes before he was close enough to the Nyx, unaware of its approaching doom. Then he lit a cynosural beacon.Northern Coalition(dot) tackle ships bridged in immediately and bubbled the helpless Nyx, followed by the rest of the fleet along with twenty-two Motherships and two carriers to serve as logistic support. With all that fire power on grid, the Nyx had no chance and was quickly destroyed.

Yet, the battle was far from over, as the SOLAR FLEET Tengus engaged the Norther Coalition(dot) support fleet, prompting a battle that raged for two hours, without any side getting the upper hand. However, as reinforcements for both sides arrived on the field, including a large Nulli Secunda Alliance Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, it was clear the N3 forces were outnumbering the RUS Coalition's. Thus, the RUS Coalition ceded the field to N3, allowing its forces to destroy four Territorial Claim Units, adding a loss of four systems to that of the Nyx.Battle ReportThe remainder of SOLAR FLEET's, as well as all of Northern Coalition(dot) Motherships safely extracted from the system without further losses.Special thanks are in order to Travis Musgrat and glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance for giving me an interview, and to Hendrick Tallardar and rcmst of TheMittani(dot)com and EVENews24(dot)com respectively, for their initial reports on the subject.